The Presidents and the Pastime

Curt Smith is the author of seventeen books, including the classic history of baseball broadcasting, Voices of The Game. His other books include: Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story (Potomac Books, 2009), Mercy! A Celebration of Fenway Park’s Centennial¿(Potomac Books, 2012), and most recently, George H. W. Bush: Character at the Core (Potomac Books, 2014). Smith is a senior lecturer of English at the University of Rochester, a Gate House Media columnist, and a contributor to publications from Newsweek to the New York Times. The host of the "Voices of The Game" series at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, he has been named to the Judson Welliver Society of former presidential speechwriters. ¿

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Beginnings: 1700s to Theodore Roosevelt, 1901–1909 2. Power of Two: William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson, 1909–1921 3. Triple Play: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover, 1921–1933 4. "The Champ": Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933–1945 5. The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman, 1945–1953 6. "From the Heart of America": Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953–1961 7. "The First Irish Brahmin": John F. Kennedy, 1961–1963 8. Larger Than Life: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963–1969 9. Nixon’s the One: Richard Nixon, 1969–1974 10. "Friendship, a Perfect Blendship!": Gerald Ford, 1974–1977 11. From Softball to Hardball: Jimmy Carter, 1977–1981 12. The Gipper: Ronald Reagan, 1981–1989 13. The Baseball Lifer: George H. W. Bush, 1989–1993 14. Our Man Bill: William Jefferson Clinton, 1993–2001 15. W.: George W. Bush, 2001–2009 16. The Pioneer: Barack Obama, 2009–2017 17. The Donald and the Game: Donald Trump, 2017– Bibliography Index